today," the race tightens. the latest polls among registered voters put obama and romney dead even. sdusky speaks. hours before being sentenced on 45 counts of child sexual abuse, the 68-year-old proclaims his innocence. and curious discovery. the mars rover finds a bright object on the surface, but what the mars rover finds a bright object on the surface, but what exactly is it? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and the race is on. the 2012 presidential election is just four weeks away, and now new polls show the race between

president obama and republican rival mitt romney is closer than ever. nbc's tracie potts has the latest on this. lynn, good morning. it depends which polls you're looking at. a new pew research poll shows romney got a boost. gallup has the president up five points. they think he got a boost after the positive jobs report. mitt romney in virginia yesterday, he moves on today to iowa and ohio, but in virginia he gave a foreign policy speech where he said the world is more dangerous now because of the president's policies. he said he would appoint one person to be a czar to overlook a number of issues including syria where he wants to arm the rebels. president obama has spent a few days in california. another fund-raiser, another event there late last night where the president said that he has been courting hispanics

there, but he also said that mitt romney's debate was more style over substance, that debate really fueling the polls and we'll see if it's affected by the vice presidential debate this week. vice president biden, paul ryan debate on thursday. both of them out of the public spotlight as they continue to study for that. ryan is in florida. vice president biden is in delaware. he says he is focusing on ryan's speeches and on his budget. lynn? tracie pots for us in washington. tracie, thank you. a nashville hospital is reporting another death from the meningitis outbreak. that's according to the associated press. if confirmed, it would be the fifth deadly case in tennessee, the ninth nationally. at least 105 people in nine states from minnesota to florida have been affected. the cdc now believes 13,000 people in 23 states may have received steroid injections tied to this outbreak. while many are believed not to be at risk, those who got the

shot between late june and september are being urged to get checked. for the very first time we are hearing from jerry sandusky out of his sentencing this morning on 45 counts of child sexual assault. the former penn state assistant football coach was convicted in june of molesting ten boys over 15 years. prosecutors say about half a dozen of his victims will take the witness stand and sandusky himself is expected to testify at the hearing to defiantly say he is innocent. he gave a preview of what he might say at an audio statement he recorded in prison. i am responding to the worst loss of my life. first i looked at myself. over and over i asked why. why didn't we have a fair opportunity to prepare for trial? why have so many people suffered as a result of false allegations? what's the purpose? maybe it will help others, some vulnerable children who could be abused might not be as a result of all the publicity.

>> the 68-year-old is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. we're going to begin in texas with dog snatching heiss that cost two pit stores thousands of dollars. in all thieves swiped two puppies worth 3500 and $4,000 a piece. police are asking the public for assistance on the case. crews in iowa have a huge mess to clean up. 21 empty freight cars tumbled off the tracks when a train derailed in a rural area. no injuries were reported. coyotes are making the mean streets of chicago home sweet home. video of the wild animal was recently captured in one of the windy city's urban areas. can you imagine seeing that? officials are aware of the increase in sightings and plan to keep a close eye on that situation. i hope so. finally, a little bit of hollywood history is going on the auction block.

it's the famed one worn by judy garland in the "wizard of oz." it's expected to fetch over a million dollars. the winning winner will win the only winning gingham dress used in the film. bill karins is here. he has your weather forecast for you. >> made me think of how many times that dress has been used for a halloween costume. >> i still am traumatized. >> that's what i should show up for halloween as, a flying monkey with the music in the background. >> i won't speak to you if that's the case. >> well, good morning, everyone. i think we've all gotten a taste of the cold air by now. if you're in the northern plains, it's another little brisk morning. another large storm is swirling along the border of minnesota, up there in canada. also another storm lingering off the eastern sea boards. we don't have another stormy morning this morning. you will deal with the blustery

conditions in the northern plains. in the boston area, the rain is not far away. this storm will be paralleling the coast and heading off shore. the only areas dealing with some of the nastiier weather, right off the jersey shore. temperatures are in the 40s and 30s throughout the region. right now minot is down to 36. it's windy. wind chill is in the 20s. definitely bundle yourself and the kids. eventually the front will slide through chicago, mull walk key, green bay. not bad now. it will get blustery and chilly as the day goes on. the forecast as the front goes through chicago, a chance of a few showers. minneapolis looking at 53. that's it for your high. temperature not going anywhere. we're finally getting a little bit of recovery in areas like texas and arkansas. there are a few spots out there this morning dealing with a little bit of rain. here's a look at the weather outside your window.

so a nice recovery after the cold little snap. it doesn't take long for areas of the deep south to warm up. louisiana, mississippi should be wonderful. nice fall afternoon. areas of colorado not bad either. this is the time of year that usually you get a cold front about every three or four days. bill, thank you so much. coming up, a mass murderer known as the squirrel busted. north carolina's threat to main land u.s.a. and why your refrigerator is bigger than ever before. plus, shocking news from illusionist david blaine after his latest endurance stunt. you're watching "early today."

i'm lynn berry and right now an neuron ul warning from north carolina which says its missiles are capable of reaching the u.s. mainland. an apparent reaction to south korea warning to strengthen its

own program. he's known as the skirl. mexican authorities say salvador escobeo is a key lieutenant behind the killing of david hartley who was jet skiing on a border lake. his founder may have been killed sunday in what would be a major victory for the president. for the first time, less than half americans do not consider themselves protestant. 48%. a pew research study finds many ochting out of religion. one in five say they are nothing in particular, agnostic or atheist. an 8% jump since 1990. the mars curiosity rover has been digging up soil sampleless. now nasa wants to find out if a bright object found on the ground is part of the vehicle or something more. and this is what happens when a large group of mostly intoxicated people take on a

bull in columbia. amateur mattadors got into the ring and tried to show the bull who was boss. one of the things trending on nbc.com, people have found it's possible to be too clean. a study done over the summer found that amish children raised on farms were less likely to develop allergies and asthma. a child's immune system were stronger at fighting off allergies. researchers advise using good old soap and water instead of overusing hand sanitizers. and now here's an early hook at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow dropped 29 points, the s&p was down 5 and the nasdaq dropped 23. in overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei dropped 93 points but in hong kong the hang seng gained 112. well, stocks have been on a strong run but right now earnings and global growth fears have investors on edge.

in tokyo this morning officials from the international monetary fund said the global economy could be skidding toward recession. just three years after pulling out of the previous one. that coupled with alcoa's third quarter earnings kickoff could be a big market driver today. yesterday intel, home depot, and walt disney all ened the day lower as u.s. driven sectors were the biggest losers. apple dragged the dow and the s&p despite denials of a strike at one of its manufacturing plants. house officials are wanting u.s. companies to not deal with two of china's dealers. american express and walmart are rolling out a new reloadable prepaid card. currently 85% of walmart's transactions are done in cash. gm plans to hire up to 10,000 computer pros and it takes software and tech design in house. piling more into your fridge these days?

that's because american's waist lines are growing along with our refrigerators. new data shows they've expanded more than three cubic feet in the last 30 years. meanwhile, if you're trying to lose a few, the american beverage association is rolling out new soda machines with calorie counts on the buttons. finally, it may be 5:00 somewhere, but on john wayne's watch, it's always cocktail time. the $32,000 time piece is among $3 million worth of goods up for grabs at one connecticut jeweler, along with jewels from liz taylor and cher. well, coming up, the texans stay perfect, things get even in the major league, and tiger says i'm sorry. plus, five miles of pride. check out this unusual flag display. it's real. your sports headlines are straight ahead. the cold air continues to pour down from canada. it's heading for the great lakes next. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning, in sports, the texans remain undefeated. arian foster led the texans to a 23-17 victory. the jets joe mcnight ran back a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. new york had a chance to take the late lead in the fourth

quarter but mark sanchez was picked off by jackson with almost 2:00 left to play. sad news from the nfl, former detroit lion alex kerris, well known for his role in "web "webster" is suffering from cancer. he has been suffering from dementia and it's part of that mass concussion lawsuit involving more than 3,000 players filed against the nfl. to baseball. the cardinals have bashed the nationals 12-4 knotting their series at 1-1. carlos beltran hit the last four homers. the orioles put them up 2-1. baltimore tacked on a final run with 6 with a mark reynolds single there. they held on to win it 3-2. to golf now where tiger woods reportedly apologized to several of his ryder cup rookie

teammates for a poor performance. woods went 0-2 in team play with steve stricker. and finally, look at this. more than 20,000 supporters of the argentine soccer club river plate carried an almost five mile long flag through the streets of buenos aires to the club stadium and right into the guinness book of world records. coming up, katy perry's patriotic nani and lady gaga doesn't miss a beat. your entertainment headlines are just ahead. you're watching earl "early today."

welcome back to "early today." i take no pleasure of showing you a wind chill map this time of year, but that's the case. right now the wind chill feels like 24 degrees in minot, north dakota. 29 in billings, she an's in the 30s. that's the cold air settling over the midwest as a cold front slides through. temperatures dropping in iowa and minneapolis today. highs only in the low 50s, some cases the 40s in the northern plains. the other flip side of that, ahead of that front it will be a beautiful day from oklahoma, arkansas, texas. on the east coast, there's a storm along the eastern seaboard. a few sprinkles and drizzle. except for areas right around

cape cod, most locations should be dry. as far as tomorrow goes, looks like a very dry day across the country. just the cool temperatures continue in the northern plains. well, if you're watching us on kark 4 news in little rock, arkansas, learn how math and science make things like video games and roller coaster possible at design zone. at the museum of discovery. thank you so much. now here is an early look at your entertainment headlines. one of hollywood's most enduring couples are calling it quits. kind of surprised about this. danny da veto and ray a perelman have separated after 30 years of marriage according to a rep. the two met in 1970. they have three children all in their 20s. no word on what caused the split. >> do you remember the show "taxi?" >> of course. katy perry went all out with her performance complete with a special manicure that featured photos of the president and a democrat donkey.

there you go. getting creative. first justin bieber, now lady gaga. she got sick not once but four times on stage. and she kept on singing and dancing. >> wow. >> i want my money back. reports say gaga's been battling the flu. there you go. finally, last night david blaine ended what he now says is his final endurance stunt. the illusionists went 72 hours without any food wearing a chain mill suit and surrounded by low current million volt coils. a visibly weak blaine was immediately wheeled into an ambulance to be examined by medical doctors and psychologists who want to know why in the world he would do that. >> i would like to see his bank account. >> that's probably true. i was by the river over the weekend and saw him. it was packed. people lined up just get in. >> a glimpse? >> i just took pictures of it. all right, david, you made your point, okay? we know. you're fancy. >> it's pretty cool.

>> you can endure three days with no food. >> creative. >> it's a really fancy diet. this comes to us from wayne 3 news in louisville, kentucky. in indiana a super size work force is helping homeless families rebound seven months after a tornado there. 1200 volunteers are helping to build ten homes from victims who say the outpouring is overwhelming. take a listen. this is too good to be true. this is really happening. they put the sign up front. yeah, it's real. >> wow. the homes are expected to be done in december. that's the perfect holiday gift for those families. sure is i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

police were called into a home in silver spring about 8:45 last night. they say the homeowner got into an argument with a woman and a man during that fight the homeowner shot the pan. he's in the hospital in critical condition. one neighbor says the response to the shooting was overwhelming. >> crazy. i've never seen nothing like this before ever. never. i live in southeast all my life and i've never seen nothing around here. >> the homeowner was also injured in that incident. he's expected to be okay.